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college student looking down sadly at her computer
college student looking down sadly at her computer
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Life > Experiences

A Letter to Incoming Freshmen

Updated Published
Kelsey Griswold
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at NCSU chapter.

I just moved out of my freshman year dorm and decided to share what I’ve learned and experienced through this first year that might be beneficial to hear if you’re an incoming college freshman.

First off, there will be so many welcoming events for the first week of the school year. This is a perfect time to go and see what your school is offering, meet new people, and try new things! I remember students playing games outside, a movie night at the student center, potting events, and much more! As much as it may sound cheesy, everyone is experiencing this all for the first time and wants to get out and meet people as well!

Another great way to meet people and to get involved with your university is to join a club, or two! What I love about clubs in college is that you can join one that relates to your major or one that is simply something you’re interested in. I’m an economics major so I joined Women and Business, but I also felt so at home at the interest meeting for HerCampus, and here I am! Clubs are a great way to meet people, explore your interests, and even obtain some leadership experience.

The next piece of advice I have is to balance time going back home. If you are someone who can and wants to go back home often, like me, it is important to balance it out. As much as I wanted to come home and spend time with my family, it made it harder to focus on my work for the weekend, and I feel like it’s also time away from meeting people and enjoying campus life. So I think finding this balance really helped me focus on completing my work and putting myself out there.

However, this leads to my next piece. Do not beat yourself up if you are not having the most glamorous college experience that you’ve seen on TV. I struggled with this on and off during the year, but there is no need to compare your life to things you’ve only seen on TV. It’s okay if your college experience consists more of staying in the library or your dorm than going out. Again, it’s all about balance and doing what’s best for you!

Lastly, just remember to have a great time and enjoy this year because I promise it will fly by!

With love, Kelsey G

Kelsey Griswold is a President shadow for Her Campus at NC State University. She is responsible for writing articles, overseeing the social media team, and collaborating with the team to conduct photoshoots. This is her second year in Her Campus. Before Her Campus, Kelsey was a member of her high school's student council for four years. She worked alongside her club members to plan events, build the school's community outreach, and fundraise for new events. Kelsey was elected secretary in her junior year where she was in charge of keeping the club's minutes, creating the agenda for each meeting, and ensuring those tasks were completed. In senior year she was elected Student Body President where she was responsible for conducting meetings, guiding the planning of school-wide and community events, and making sure every member felt heard. Now, she is in her second, and last, year at NC State majoring in economics. Kelsey was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. Off-campus she enjoys shopping, spending time with friends and family, being outdoors, and listening to music. She is passionate about helping others and enjoying everything the world has to offer. After graduation, she hopes to become a project manager, but most importantly, she hopes to travel as much as possible and spend time with loved ones.